On Monday morning, everyone took a chartered flight from Sanya back to Shenzhen and threw themselves into their work.

Yi Anguo convened a meeting with the domestic securities investment team. He presented his own forecast, believing that a major, long-lasting bull market had already begun, and he hoped everyone would prepare for a full-scale push. The focus of investment would be on real estate, banking, insurance, securities, shipbuilding, pharmaceuticals, technology, construction, manufacturing, automotive, aviation, medical, and health industries.

Feng Lei, the deputy manager in charge of domestic securities investment, couldn't help but question him. "I'm not sure what you're basing this prediction on, Manager Yi, that a super bull market has already started. But based on what you're saying, the sectors for investment seem to encompass nearly every listed company. Besides, the current stock market is in a slump; it's a bear market. That's the consensus view for both domestic and foreign markets. They're all sluggish, and investors are on the sidelines, waiting and watching."

"The domestic A-share index's growth has been minuscule," Feng Lei continued. "Right now, it's just barely holding above 1,000 points, with an average daily trading volume of less than 10 billion yuan. No matter how you look at it, there are absolutely no signs of a bull market starting."

Yi Anguo felt a headache coming on. Of course, he was relying on memories from before his rebirth. But that was obviously a reason he could never state. If he did, no one would believe him; he'd be lucky if they didn't just call him insane.

"If I must give a reason, it would be the ongoing shareholder and exchange rate reforms," Yi Anguo said, forcing himself to find a justification. "The shareholder reform has a very significant impact on stock prices."

"Let's take Tianwei Electric as an example. Assistant Zhou, please pull up the stock chart for Tianwei Electric for everyone to see."

Once the stock chart for Tianwei Electric appeared on the big screen, Yi Anguo moved the mouse and continued, "As you can all see, its stock price clearly began to soar right after its shareholder reform plan was approved. It went from a low of 5.75 yuan on June 6th to close at 8.09 yuan on July 13th. That's a rise of 2.34 yuan in less than forty days, an increase of over 40%."

"Now, let's all guess how high this stock could go in the future," he challenged. "I believe this stock will rise by at least another 60% this year, to around 13 yuan. Next year, it will definitely double again, rising by more than 100%. As for the year after that, I estimate it will surpass 80 yuan per share, which is ten times its current value."

"However, the stock market is risky, and one must enter with caution. No matter how good the market is, you can still lose money if you don't handle your positions well."

"Now, let's look at this stock…"

…

"The stock market has its ups and downs. Even in a bull market, prices can't rise forever. Therefore, I can only make a general inference that the bull market has started. As for the fluctuations along the way, that will depend on everyone's judgment. Only with superior judgment can you earn greater profits in a bull market."

"If your judgment isn't the best, or is just average, you might be better off acting defensively, conserving your energy, and patiently waiting for the right opportunity. When the bull market is just starting, take advantage of the relatively low stock prices to buy in boldly. Then, simply wait for the real bull market to arrive and for the substantial rise in stock prices to reap your rewards."

…

After the meeting, Yi Anguo felt he had done his duty. Whether anyone believed him or followed his advice was of no concern to him. Moreover, he wouldn't interfere with the specific operations, such as which stocks to buy. It was just like with the international crude oil futures before; he maintained a hands-off approach. As long as they followed his instructions, things wouldn't go wrong. If they didn't and problems arose, it had nothing to do with him. If he had to be responsible for every operational detail, what was the point of having so many project leaders and deputy managers?

Just as Yi Anguo was preparing to leave work early, he received a call from an unknown number. Upon answering, he learned it was Yi Haiyang, a childhood friend from his village.

Yi Haiyang hadn't been a particularly good student either, having had to repeat two years before finally getting into the computer science department at Nanzhang University in the provincial capital.

It's true what they say: comparisons are odious. Being born is really a game of skill. Yi Haiyang had been quite lucky in that regard. Both his parents were civil servants. His father, he recalled, had a junior college degree. But in that era, a junior college graduate was quite impressive. He started at a township enterprise and was promoted step-by-step to the county level, eventually becoming the director of the transportation bureau.

Yi Haiyang's older brother wasn't a great student either. It seemed he had also repeated a year before getting into an agricultural university. He was then assigned to a township as a deputy chief, later promoted to chief, and after that, Yi Anguo lost track, not having paid attention to such news.

In school, Yi Anguo's academic performance had easily crushed both brothers, but what did that matter? In the end, they used money to keep repeating years until they finally got into a university. As for himself, even if he had been admitted, his parents couldn't have afforded it. At most, they could have let him attend a tuition-free teacher's college.

Before his rebirth, Yi Anguo vaguely remembered that after graduating, Yi Haiyang had come to Shenzhen to work for a computer software company, earning a high salary. During the early 2000s, he was already pulling in a monthly salary of tens of thousands. He would fly home multiple times a year, spending over 10,000 yuan on airfare alone.

Although Yi Anguo knew this, he never asked for his contact information. What could he have done even if he found him? Yi Haiyang couldn't offer him a job, since he didn't know anything about computers. Besides, the guy got married early. If he were to show up at his doorstep, Yi Haiyang would certainly not disdain him. He'd at least treat him to a meal, share a beer, and chat. He wouldn't kick him out without even offering a sip of water, right? After all, they had grown up together, friends since they were toddlers in split pants. But his wife probably wouldn't be too welcoming. I heard her family background is quite good, and she's his colleague. She's not from the same province, though; she's from Beihu Province, which makes her a fellow provincial of Hu Jing's.

Once the two started chatting, they realized they lived quite close and agreed to meet for a meal to catch up. When people from the same region meet far from home, their eyes brim with tears—how much more so for those from the same village? Being so close, it would have been strange not to meet.

The place Yi Haiyang chose was, coincidentally, the Chuan Yu Restaurant at Blue Coast Phase Three.

As soon as Yi Anguo walked in, Li Shanshan, who was helping out at the restaurant during her summer break, spotted him and hurried over with a bright smile. "Brother-in-law! What brings you here at this hour? Are you here for a meal? It looks like there are no private rooms left."

"No, wait! My sister kept your old office and turned it into a private room. From now on, it's your exclusive room, only open to you," Li Shanshan suddenly recalled, her grin widening.

"Is that so? Wouldn't that be a waste?" Yi Anguo said, a bit embarrassed. "A childhood friend from my village invited me here for a meal today. Please put it on my tab; just let your sister know."

"A friend from your village? Should I move them to your exclusive private room?" Li Shanshan asked.

"Alright, then. I'll take care of it and lead them over," Yi Anguo agreed after a moment's thought. His main thought was that this would free up their current room for other customers who might need it. After all, as Li Shanshan said, the room converted from his office was for his exclusive use, and it was a waste to leave it empty.

Yi Anguo was, of course, very familiar with Chuan Yu Restaurant. He went to the pre-booked private room and saw his childhood friend Yi Haiyang, his wife, and a little boy of three or four. The whole family had come.

To his greater surprise, Yi Haiyang's mother was also there. Yi Anguo was genuinely happy to see her.

"Sister-in-law Yue Hua, you've come to Shenzhen to enjoy life too?" Yi Anguo said with a cheerful laugh. According to the generational hierarchy in their village, Yi Anguo and Yi Haiyang's father were of the same generation, a consequence of Yi Anguo's father having him when he was already over forty.

"I've taken early retirement. I was just idle at home with nothing to do, so I came here to help them look after the child," Yi Haiyang's mother replied, smiling happily at the sight of him.

"An Country, what sort of work are you doing here? Are you doing well?" Auntie Yue Hua asked with concern.

"I'm doing okay for now," Yi Anguo replied with a smile. "By the way, let's switch rooms. I have another private room with a much better atmosphere."

"What's wrong? This room is nice. Why move?" Auntie Yue Hua asked, looking around.

"This restaurant is actually owned by a friend of mine. She has reserved an exclusive private room for me here. That one is larger and much nicer," Yi Anguo explained.

He led them to the room that had been converted from his old office. The level of decoration and the dining environment were indeed a cut above the other rooms.

"Wow, I didn't expect you to be doing so well! The owner of this restaurant really holds you in high regard, giving you such a nice room," Yi Haiyang said with a hearty laugh.

Not long after they sat down, a waiter began bringing dishes to the table.

"Excuse me, is there some mistake? We haven't ordered yet. Why are you already serving food?" Yi Haiyang's wife asked in surprise, still looking at the menu. Moreover, the dishes being served were all signature items, which, according to the menu, were not cheap at all.

Just then, Li Shanshan came in carrying another platter and said to Yi Anguo with a cheeky grin, "Brother-in-law, these are all your favorite dishes."

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